"We have changed the life of somebody in this room!" Riley says walking into the room.
"Oh please not me" Zay says.
"I'm happy with my life the way it is" Farkle responds.
"Yeah, we're not talking about you two" Maya says.
"Oh no. What'd you do?" I ask kinda scared.
"Oh Lucas, in your whole history, we know what has always been your biggest regret." Riley says.
"Baaaaaaah" I hear maya say.
"What's that, why would you do that?" I ask
"BAAAAAAH," maya yells, "You used to be a champion sheep rider at the mutton bustin' rodeo, until you fell off of Judy the sheep."
"And then you gave up ,but you never got over it" Riley enters the conversation again.
" That is my deepest, darkest secret! No one knows I fell off Judy the sheep except..." I say
"They, they made me Lucas, they, they made me!" Zay says
"How did they make you?" I question him.
" I said, "Y'all wanna hear a great Lucas story?" They said yes!" He tells me.
" Okay it doesn't matter, I'm over it. I don't think about that day at all," I say, "I fell off that sheep so fast. No one likes me!"
"Lucas, you can fix this! Get back on that sheep and be a sheep champion!" Riley says
"We have made that possible" Maya says
"How? How'd you make that possible?" I question scared and kinda angry.
"Show it to him" Riley says, and Maya pulls out a paper and Riley yells "RIDE, LUCAS! RIDE, BOY!"
" We have entered you in...
The Annual Mutton Busting Tournament!
In Austin, Texas!
In front of everybody you know!
YAY!" They say
"You can't enter me in Mutton Busters, you can't be over 8 years old or over 55 pounds." I respond confused
"You are wrong, young Lucas. We entered you last week and your application's been accepted." Maya tells me.
"Congratulations, Lucas Friar. You are an official entry in this year's Austin Roundup Rodeo! You will be riding Tombstone the sheep." Riley reads, and I feel my heart stop for a moment.
"What? Tombstone?" Zay says " Oh, woah, that's the end of you."
"Why is it the end of him?" Maya asks.
"What's the difference between riding Judy the sheep and Tombstone the sheep?" Riley asks.
"Read it again" I sigh scared for my life.
"Blah blah blah, over the age and weight limit for Mutton Busters, blah, you will be placed in the adult rodeo where you will, blah, ride Tombstone the sheep." Maya reads it again.
"OOH! You only got ONE WORD wrong!" I yell in frustration.
"Let's see if they find that one word!" Zay tells in my defense.
"Blah blah blah blabady blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blady blah... OH BULL!" Maya says in realization.
"Ah, she found it" Zay says
"You signed me up to ride Tombstone the BULL!" I yell at them.
"Are you excited" Riley asks doing some movement with her arms.
"What's the difference between riding a sheep and riding a bull?" Maya asks
"Death! Death is the difference!" I yell again. As Mr.Matthews comes in.
"Alright may we begin class....The railroad" he says as I sit here wondering what my girlfriend is gonna say when she finds out.
"I don't get it" Farkle says.
"What do you mean you don't get it, Farkle?" Mr.Matthews questions.
"How does this relate to what's going on in our lives, Hambone?" Farkle questions.
"You're just gonna let him call you 'Hambone', Matthews?" Maya asks.
"The railroad allowed us to travel great distances. The railroad allowed us to see how other people live. When you see how other people live, it changes you. And I like 'Hambone.' It's cool." He says.
"Riley, rip it up before he finds out!" I slightly yell.
"Who?" She asks
"Oh you'll know who. You'll hear a big boomin' voice. He'll say somethin'. He'll say somethin' like..." Zay trails off.
"This country was built on railroads. I, myself just arrived on the noon train from Austin, Texarcanada and Arkadelphia. Guess why I'm here?" My pappy joe says entering the room and I sigh at least I get to see Ari again I think to myself.
"Anybody?" Mr.Matthews asks the class.
"Haha! I'm here 'cause I could not be more proud of my grandboy Lucas." He responds.
" Pappy Joe. That's your Pappy Joe! That's Pappy Joe! YES, MORE STUFF!" Maya says getting more excited. As I sit there contemplating what could be last days.
"That right there's the first Friar that ever had the courage to ride the most ferocious creature in all of Creation." He says proudly. Damn I'm in deep I tell myself.
"Are we talking about Judy the sheep, Pappy Joe?" Riley asks. Why would she say that? I ask myself just why?
"Haha! Judy the sheep! Remember when you fell off Judy the sheep for about two seconds, boy? Remember that? And we all said it was okay 'cause you were only five years old? So we said it was okay, but it wasn't okay because you were a disgrace to the community and you dragged your family name through the mud-hole right up to this day. You put us in the mud-hole, remember boy?!" He says getting louder.
" Yes. There is one moment in every man's life that shapes who he is forever. My moment was Judy the sheep." I say sadly.
"Well you know what, Lucas Friar? Forgiven! You get on that bull for more than three seconds, and you will be the master of Tombstone the bull. And I'll tell you I love you. And that's something I never said to another human." He tells me.
"Can we talk about this?" Matthews asks.
"Time for talkin's over. I got a permission slip. Babineaux, I got one for you too. Come on boys! Let's go ride."
"YEEHAW!... That slipped out." Zay says standing up.
"You did this!" I yell as we walk out. "At least I'll see Ari again" I tell Zay as we leave
"Still haven't told them?" He questions
"No and thank you for keeping this one thing a secret. I wanna tell them, I mean I'm not ashamed of her. I love her but I feel like this will break the group and i don't wanna do that"
————Time Skip to Texas————
(Cletus is just leaving)
"Goodbye" I sigh and sit down.
"Come on Lucas it can't be that bad right?" Maya questions.
"Yea it's not gonna be bad" Riley says.
Suddenly the door opens and there she is Ari.
She looks at me and covers her mouth as a sob escapes. I know why. Her dad died riding a bull and now I have to do it. My friends except Zay look at her confused, but I just open my arms.
" Luke!" She yells jumping into my arms, her legs around my waist as I hold her.
" Ari" I breathe out. As she gets down.
"Why? Why are you doing this? I can't lose someone else to the rodeo I can't Lucas Friar" she tells me.
" Ari, I didn't want to my friends signed me up. I'm gonna try so hard okay? Wanna know why? Cause I gotta make it back to you" I say as I bend down and for the first time in what seems like years kiss her.
"Ok. But if you die. I'll resuscitate you and kill you again." She says and then pulls me into another kiss, more passionate than the last.
"I love you" I tell her as I place my forehead against hers.
"I love you too" she says.
"What the hell just happened? Why did you kiss her? You have a girlfriend?" I hear and turn away from Ari remembering that my friends are here.
"Shit" I mumble and Ari giggles causing me to smile.
"Oh yea guys this is Ari... my girlfriend, also known as the love of my life" I say winking at her.
"You have girlfriend?" Riley questions sadly.
"Yea I do. I'm sorry for not telling you guys but it was hard to find when to bring it up"
"It's ok I guess" she responds.
"Lucas you gotta go get ready" Ari tells me.
"So your with me ? " I ask her.
"Always" she responds
"And forever" I finish kissing her lightly going to get ready.
————Time slip to rodeo————
" I will ride you. I will ride you for more than three seconds. I will be the master of Tombstone the bull. All right, how bad is this gonna be? Great" I say to Tombstone.
"I will ride you. I will be the master of Judy the sheep." I hear someone say only to turn and find one Timmy McCullough.
"Yeah, that's right, Judy. It's me. You leave me alone!" I say to Judy.
"Good luck, Friar" Timmy says.
"Good luck, McCullough" I respond.
"Lucas!!!" I hear and turn around to see Ari.
"Hey cutie" I say
"Hey handsome" she responds.
"I'm gonna go meet up with the group you coming?"
"Quil is riding in mutton busters so I'm gonna go be with him but I'll find you before I promise"
"Promise?" I ask grabbing her hips.
"Promise" she confirms kissing me. "Hmmm I love you" she says pulling away and walking backwards.
"Love you too" I say leaving.
I finally find Maya and Riley and say "Oh, hi, yeah... I just saw Tombstone the bull, and why do you hate me?"
"Come on, a bull is just a man cow." Riley says like it's nothing.
"You're a-scared of a man cow. A-mooo!" Maya says
"You two have never actually seen a bull, have you?" I respond not believing this.
"No, but what we'd like to see are some cold drinks inside an air conditioned refreshment tent." Riley says back.
"Oh, lookee here." Maya says as they walk away.
" I just think you may react differently when you actually see a "man cow."" I respond walking behind them.
"Oh, boy. It's hotter out here than my mama's barbecue sauce." We bear as we enter the tent.
"Hey, Zay, what are you watching?" Riley asks as we walk in.
"Not anything you wanna see" Zay answers.
"Now, for your viewing pleasure, some of last year's greatest hits. These, here, are what we call "love taps."" The rodeo announcer comments on the screen.
"I don't want you going anywhere near that bull." Maya says scared.
"Yeah, that makes two of us." I respond
"I want you to take off that stupid outfit, and I wanna get outta here." Maya tells me.
"Maya." I say.
"I saw the bull. I don't think the bull knows this is supposed to be fun." Maya tells me.
"Okay. Maya, let's not shake Lucas' confidence. You can do this, right? You can just ride a bull for four seconds and win the Master of Tombstone Award?" Riley says.
"Lucas is gonna need a tombstone! There isn't gonna be any more Lucas!" Maya yells
"He's going to do great, Maya. Zay, tell him he's going to do great." Riley says
"You'll do great." Zay says.
"Truth." Maya tells him
"You're gonna die. Go say bye bye to Ari, cause you're gonna die" he tells me.
"I believe in you. I believe you can do anything you want to." Riley tells me.
"Riley, why do you want him to do this?" Maya asks.
"Because this is better than riding Judy the sheep, and I don't want him to be a disgrace to his community anymore." She answers
"Well, I don't think that I'm actually a disgrace to the community..."I say
"You are. I've been talking to people. They have long memories around here." She cuts me off
"Baaaaah!" A waitress says as she walks past
"See? I have to do this." I say
"Okay. Then go out there, and be the hero I know you are." Riley says
"Thank you, Riley." I respond
Before I know it mutton busters are over and we wait for my turn to come up. "And now, for the event you've all been waiting for, bull ridin'! And this year, will we finally have a master of Tombstone? The record on Tombstone is three point seven seconds. Will someone finally beat it? But first, riding Buttercup, is Eddie Callaway! Oh! Eddie, that had to hurt. Looks like Eddie's gonna have himself a little lay down for a moment." The announcer says as I look in a slight shock.
Maya turns to me and asks, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Lucas, you're serious, right? You can seriously do this?" Riley asks me.
"Yeah, I learned from the best, actually." I respond
"Who's the best?" Maya asks
"Eddie Callaway." I tell her in slight defeat
The Rodeo Announcer then says "Coming up, our main event. Lucas Friar tangles with Tombstone."
"Well, you're here, boy." Pappy joe says.
"Lucas, look at me. If you do this, I will never speak to you again." Maya tells me and I look slightly shocked, she signed me up.
"Maya!" Riley yells
"Riley, why are you for this?" Maya asks
"Because I-I want him to succeed, I want him to make his grandfather proud." Riley tells her.
"You're not proud of him if he doesn't do this?" Maya asks pappy joe.
"I think you have a fine grasp of the general situation, yeah. In my opinion, it's about facing life, which runs harder than any bull. You gotta face your fears. You ride them, or they ride you." Pappy joe responds.
"Lucas!" I hear and turn to find Ari, "Oh there you are I thought I wasn't gonna catch up with you" she says as she goes to hug me.
"Finally will you tell him not to ride the bull" Maya asks Ari.
"Look Maya I know how scary this is okay. But I'm here to support Lucas no matter what." Ari responds before turning to me. "If your still gonna go out there I believe in you ok? You know how this affects me but this, this is you and I know you'll come back to me. If you choose not too we'll go on a horseback ride and go to our spot. Because I don't care I love you and I'll support you" she says as I hang onto every word.
"I love you too" I say and pull her closer and squeeze her a little "and thank you" I say and kiss her lightly.
"I'll never speak to you again" I hear maya say as I pull away.
"Maya what..." I trail off as she leaves and we walk outside.
We continue and walk to the pen where tombstone is. I take a look and grab Ari and pull her away from the group a little.
"Are you sure your okay with me doing this? If you don't want me to I'll leave, I'll leave right now. Horseback riding on our trial if you want" I say as I wrap my arms around her.
"I'm sure. Lucas your more trained for this than my father ever was. I love you and I believe in you. Go out there and show him who's boss" she replies kissing me again.
"Okay I love you too you know?"
"Oh I know" she says as we walk to the pen.
————time skip to after the bull————
Riley's POV:
"Lucas!" Me and Ari yell.
"Come on Luke! Not you too not you too" I hear Ari say as she kneels down.
"Wake up!" I tell
"Baby please come back to me." Ari says quietly and Lucas groans waking up.
"I told you I wasn't leaving you. Always and forever remember" Lucas mutters to her making me frown. I still can't believe he never told us he had a girlfriend. All this time I liked him and he never said anything.
"Look you did it!" I hear Zay say.
Then the rodeo announcer is heard " Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is an official time! He's done it! Let's hear it!" We all congratulate Lucas and I walk off to find Maya. I turn around for a second and I see Lucas and Ari pulling away as they hug tightly.
"I saw he's alright" Maya says as I walk up.
"He was wonderful. How are you?" I reply sitting down.
" I couldn't watch. I don't know why. I just... I couldn't watch."
"I know why. I know that you think I love him like a brother."
"You know?" She asks
" I know that you thought that for a while." I reply.
"Riles, whatever you feel, that's... that's up to you, I..."
"Maya, it's up to you to tell me whatever you feel. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me anything. You're my sister, and I've always wanted a sister."
"Me too" she replies.
"Sisters should tell each other their secrets, don't you think? You couldn't watch him because you were afraid something would happen to him. Because you like him. You make fun of him because you like him. And you've never told me that either. Well, you're right. I love him like a brother. That's how I love him."
"Okay and if that's true. There's still one thing in the way."
"Maya, i can figure that out but you deserve a chance to feel what you feel."
Lucas POV:
"I really do wish I grew up with you guys, Lucas." I hear Farkle as we sit outside stargazing.
"You just did Farkle" I reply.
"Yeah, from now on, it's always been the three of us." Zay says.
"Wanna fix that sentence?" I hear and we all turn to see Ari.
"Yea sure from now on, it's always been us two and the love birds" Zay says "is that better?"
"Much better" Ari says.
"Hey cutie I reply standing up.
"Hey handsome" she says wrapping her arms around me.
"Yea just the four of us" I say looking around.
"Hey Lucas can I talk to you?" I hear Riley enter.
"Actually I have something to say to you. If it wasn't for you I don't know if I would have signed up for that and I probably wouldn't have made good friends in New York so thank you" I say to her.
"Your really important to me Lucas. We've always been good friends and now that I think about it you kinda did always try to turn the couple thing away. And I don't want that any more. I want to know I can talk to you. You're my brother and I'm your sister" she says leaving me confused. I'm happy she got over me but just because she doesn't like me anymore doesn't mean we're siblings it took years to build that type of relationship with Zay.
"Okay if that's what you think we are"
"That's what I think we are. I love you, Lucas. And now I know how. How do you feel about him, Maya?" Riley asks leaving me more confused but I just shake it off and turn back to Ari wrapping my arms around her waist from behind and murmur a "love you" into her ear.